Dark Energon Summary and official pictures above from Bigbadtoystore:Each of these translucent figures is the result of exposure to Dark Energon, which twists the mind and powers the body, eventually corrupting and destroying the user. With the Decepticons trying to use the Dark Energon to take over earth, Optimus Prime and the other Autobots are forced to expose themselves to it, so that they are able to take on the Decepticons on their own terms. Will they be able to defeat Megatron and his crew in time for Ratchet to reverse the process, flush the Dark Energon from their systems and save them from a horrid fate?

What redeco assortment would be complete without a Bumblebee? Nowadays the once ignored character has become a mainstay, so it's no shock that he is part of the "Dark Energon" Deluxe assortment. This figure is a redeco of the Robots in Disguise Bumblebee sculpt, so check out that review for a detailed look at the figure. This review will focus on the changes made for this release.

Vehicle Mode:
To quote Bumblebee himself from "Generation One", "I'm a Gold bug!". For those missing the reference, when Bumblebee was reconstructed in a new body in the Generation One cartoon "The Return of Optimus Prime", he also took on a new and more mature persona known as "Goldbug". This was short lived as a few years later he went back to being Bumblebee, but that short period of "Bumblebee history" is being given full homage with this figure!

The primary plastic used here is a translucent yellow color with sparkles inside of it. The yellow itself is a dark shade, looking almost, you guessed it: gold. It's a really nice color and after having redeco after redeco of various Bumblebee figures over the years, it's nice to see something truly different. The wheels are cast in black plastic (which in some light actually looks like a really dark shade of grey), offering nice contrast against the sparkling "gold" plastic.

Paint applications are done in various colos that help solidify the "Goldbug" connection. These colors include a metallic blue/grey color, black, silver and red. The blue grey is the most striking as it has some metallic flake in it, giving it the same "sparkling" appearance as the yellow plastic, yet at the same time it's dark enough that it helps balance out the yellow. You'll see a bit more of this color on the lower half of each side on the vehicle. This is also notable because on G1 Goldbug, blue was the color used as the "counter point" to the gold on the figure. This same blue/grey is also used on the headlights. The area around the headlights is painted black and the engine on the hood is painted silver. At the back, the rear lights have been painted red. I'm glad to see all sides of the vehicle were given some attention, from front to back. Overall, it's a very striking color scheme that looks great.

Bumblebee's weapons have been cast in a dark blue plastic, which is another one of G1 Goldbug's colors. This is great as it hints to more of the detail that will be seen in robot mode that ties him further to Goldbug. They still attach to the hood (and each other) without a problem.

Transformation to Robot Mode:

Detach the weapons and set them aside for now.

Lift the cabin section.

Swing the back section of the vehicle down.

Separate the halves of the rear section from each other to begin forming the robot legs.

Swing the robot feet down.

Swing the car doors out.

Swing the robot arms down.

Swing the rear window in.

Pull the cabin cover piece back and down.

Now, holding onto the shoulder pieces (made up of the front wheel wells), pull those sections out which will cause an auto-transform feature that reveals the robot head and forms the chest.

Attach the weapon to the hole on either forearm.

Robot Mode:
While the vehicle mode looks great I think the robot mode is where Dark Energon Bumblebee elevates to awesome. The translucent metallic yellow still makes up a lot of the figure including the chest, back, shoulders and lower legs. However, the other parts are made up of alternating metallic blue/grey, dark blue and black parts. All these colors not only help balance out against the translucent yellow, but they also solidify his connection to G1 Goldbug. The colors never get dull or look unfinished. For instance, his shoulder armor is cast in translucent yellow, but there's a beautiful metallic blue spray op on it. His forearms are cast in black, but the outer armor is painted metallic blue. His thights are cast in dark blue, but the outer armor on them are painted metallic blue. I really appreciate the way the colors are never dull. They alternate and grab your eye beautifully.

There are some silver details on the figure as well. The face is painted silver and the angled details above the feet are silver. Right in the center of his chest is the special "Dark Energon Defender" badge, an orange shield with a silver and red Autobot symol on top. I appreciate a design that offers continuity between figures and this does the job nicely.

All of Bumblebee's joints are nice and tight. The weapons attach to his forearms nicely and other 5mm pegged weapons attach tightly as well.

Final Thoughts:
Dark Energon Bumblebee is a beautiful figure. He looks fantastic on his own, but add in the homage to Goldbug and this figure makes me one happy Transformers fan! Highly recommended!